by Betsy Haynes
Beth stepped into the apartment, her heart pounding. She knew if she and Jana made up, she'd feel a lot better.
Jana walked down the hall toward her. "Hi," she said softly.
"Hi," Beth said. "Can we talk for a minute?"
"Sure," said Jana. "Come on to my room."
Beth followed her into the neat bedroom. Jana sat at her desk, and Beth sat on the edge of the bed.
Beth couldn't look at Jana. "I'm sorry about the other day," she said, staring at the floor.
"That's okay. You had a right to say what you think."
"But I didn't have to act that way to you." After a pause Beth added, "You're my best friend."
"And you're mine." After another pause, Jana said, "I guess it's normal for even best friends to fight sometimes."
Beth nodded. "But I don't like it."
"Me, either."
"So, it's over?" Beth asked hopefully. "We're still friends?"
"We always were friends, even when we argued," insisted Jana.
"Yeah," Beth said, feeling relieved. "Thanks for not telling anyone about our fight."
Jana shrugged. "That wouldn't have helped anything."
Beth laughed. "You're right about that. But really, Jana, thanks for being loyal even when we weren't getting along."
Jana smiled. "It's over."
"It never happened."
"What never happened?" Jana asked, wide-eyed.
They laughed.
"I just wish making up with Keith could be this easy," Beth said.
"It will be."
"But how do I do it?" Beth asked, feeling deflated again.
"Just the way you made up with me. Go over and see him. And talk to him."
Beth shook her head. "I don't know if I can."
"Of course, you can," Jana insisted. "And you'll be glad you did. Aren't you glad you came here?"
"Sure. But Keith's different."
"Why is Keith different?" Then Jana grinned. "I mean, besides the obvious reasons."
"Well, it's easy to say 'I'm sorry' to you. You make it easy because you accept my apology without first saying something like, 'Yeah, you really were a jerk.'"
Jana laughed. "Keith wouldn't say that."
"Maybe not that," Beth conceded, "but something else like it."
"Well, I guess you'll never know for sure till you try it."
Beth sighed. "You're right. I'll talk to him at school tomorrow. And I'll be nervous between now and then!"
CHAPTER 12
Beth didn't want to see Keith by just running into him sometime during the next day. She wanted to talk to him when she had time to be casual and talk things out.
She arrived at school earlier than usual. Instead of meeting The Fabulous Five at their spot by the fence, she looked around for Keith. He wasn't in any of his usual spots. She saw Jon and asked him if he'd seen Keith, but he shook his head.
Where was he?
She didn't give up looking until the first bell sounded and she had to move into the school with the rest of the kids. After stopping at her own locker, she headed for Keith's. It stood closed and locked. Beth sighed. She guessed she'd have to see him in social studies first period. She walked into her social studies ahead of all the other kids, hoping Keith would arrive early, too, so she could talk to him without any other kids listening.
But soon the other students began trudging into the room, dropping books on their desks and milling around, talking to one another. A couple of kids asked her about the Halloween show, and Marcie Bee wanted to hear all about the curse. Beth answered them with one eye on the classroom door. But still no Keith.
It wasn't until the final bell rang beginning the school day that Beth realized finally that Keith wasn't coming to school that day. He must be sick.
That's funny, she thought. He seemed okay last night on the phone. He didn't sound as if he had a cold or anything. What was wrong? She swallowed hard. Could he have been so mad at her that he faked being sick just to avoid seeing her at school? That seemed a little farfetched, but she couldn't think of any other explanation.
The idea depressed her. She had wanted to get the discussion with Keith out of the way so she could relax a little. But that wasn't going to happen—not for a while, anyway.
The school day dragged on and on. Days later, it seemed, the final bell sounded, and Beth headed for the auditorium for rehearsal.
"Okay, folks, listen up," Mr. Levine said when everyone had arrived. "We have only five practices left before our final dress rehearsal a week from tomorrow. In the meantime, we must work even harder than we have before. I'm very pleased that most of you have memorized your lines and are giving your best at rehearsals. Keep up the good work—"
"—and wear squeaky shoes," Molly interjected.
"Right," Mr. Levine said. "We can't afford any more disasters before our performances."
"My wand hasn't shown up yet," Laura reminded Mr. Levine.
"I made you a new one," Molly piped up. She reached into a paper bag and brought out another wand. Laura raced over to see it. She studied the wand, which, like the original, was made from cardboard, painted gold, and sprinkled with gold glitter.
Laura sighed loudly. "Well, I suppose this will have to do."
"Laura," Molly said in the tone she would use with a spoiled child, "this is exactly like the one you lost."
"I didn't lose it!" Laura said angrily. She looked directly at Beth. "Someone took it!"
Beth rolled her eyes at Molly and shrugged.
Mr. Levine spoke up. "It's a beautiful wand, Molly. Thank you for your extra work."
"No prob, Mr. L.," she said, and walked backstage.
"I'd like to start rehearsal today by working on the Snow White skit," Mr. Levine said. "Those of you not in that skit may wait quietly backstage or wait quietly in the auditorium."
Beth decided to move backstage and see how the crews were doing.
"Mel," Beth said when she found her friend backstage in the dim light. "Are all the props and costumes ready?"
"Just about," Melanie said. "All we need now are a couple of . . ." Her voice trailed off as something caught her eye over Beth's shoulder.
"What's wrong?" Beth asked, and turned to see what Melanie was watching.
Paul Smoke, standing next to Robin's bat cage, looked angry. He was talking in low tones to Shirley, but he was obviously very upset about something.
"I told you over and over!" Paul was saying. Then he lowered his voice, and they didn't hear any more.
"What do you suppose is wrong?" Melanie whispered.
"I don't know," said Beth. "Probably a brother-sister type of fight. I have them with my brothers and sisters all the time."
Shirley looked angry, too, and she stalked away from Paul and right past Beth and Melanie without even saying hi. Paul turned back to the bat cage, jaw set tightly and eyes blazing.
"Wow, he sure looks mad," said Melanie.
Beth nodded and sauntered over to Paul, pretending she hadn't just seen Paul's fight with his sister.
"Hi," she said casually. "Is Robin ready to show his stuff?"
"I think so," Paul said stiffly. He seemed to be studying the clasp on the cage door.
"Your magic act will be one of the highlights of the show," Beth said.
Paul smiled a little. "Thanks, I hope so."
Robin was hanging upside down on the little branch in his cage. Paul lifted the bat out and held him up.
"Is he raring to go?" Beth asked jovially.
Paul looked up at her and grinned. "I'd say he's just about as excited as I've ever seen him."
Beth laughed, relieved that Paul seemed over his anger.
The rehearsal went well, and Beth felt good that the production seemed to be improving steadily. And there were no surprises, no missing objects or heads rolling across the stage, no disasters.
After rehearsal, Beth walked straight home. Maybe Keith had called.
"Hi, Mom. Any calls for me?" she aske
d hopefully as she came through the front door.
"Nope, afraid not," her mother said.
Beth trudged upstairs and stopped in the hall, staring at the phone.
Just then Todd came out of his room and walked past her. "Well, if it isn't the Wicked Witch of the West," he said sarcastically.
"Drop dead," Beth muttered, and stared at the phone again.
"Ring," she begged when Todd was out of earshot. "Come on, phone, ring."
But the phone sat stubbornly silent.
Beth reached out, hesitated, and then picked up the receiver. She dialed Keith's number, her heart pounding.
The phone was answered by a familiar voice. "Hi, Keith," Beth said.
There was a short silence, then Keith said, "Hi."
"You weren't at school today. Were you sick?"
"No. I had a dental appointment in the morning. I came back after lunch, though."
"Oh," Beth said. "Um, look, Keith, could I come over and talk a little bit?"
Keith hesitated again. "Not tonight. I'm busy."
Beth's heart sank. "Oh."
"But you could come tomorrow night," he offered.
"About seven?"
"Yeah, that would be all right."
Beth hung up and sighed, heading for her room. Keith didn't sound all that friendly, she thought. But then, he wasn't exactly unfriendly, either. At least he'd agreed to talk to her tomorrow night.
She'd have to get through a whole night and a whole day at school tomorrow, she thought, flopping backward onto her bed. It seemed forever.
She wondered if she'd live that long.
CHAPTER 13
The next day Beth didn't hear a single word that was said in any of her classes. All she could think about was Keith and talking to him that night. She just hoped they could be alone for a while without anyone in his family getting in the way.
Beth saw Keith in math class. They both looked at each other, but neither of them spoke. She decided that he, too, was saving whatever he had to say until they were alone.
Over and over, Beth rehearsed in her mind what she would say to Keith when he opened his front door. She thought up several openings that might work:
Maybe something sincere like: Hi, Keith. I really have missed you. I'm sorry about being in such a bad mood lately.
Or maybe, something with an excuse: I'm sorry, Keith, but I've been so busy with school and rehearsals every night and memorizing my lines and everything . . . I just got kind of grumpy, I guess.
Or maybe something funny: Keith, it was incredible! I was kidnapped by a band of roving crabby people! One of them impersonated me for a while, but I escaped, and they all ran away. I'm back now. So what's new?
Beth sighed and slumped against the back of her chair. None of them were right. She decided she'd better just wait and see how Keith reacted to her and say whatever came to her.
She worked hard during the rehearsal and concentrated as well as she could. She was pleased that the show seemed to be going so well, even if everyone was acting strange.
All the kids were walking around in squeaky shoes, and some of them were limping because of the pennies they had in them. Everyone was muttering to themselves, "Angels and ministers of grace, defend us." Beth thought it was pretty dumb to believe in the superstitions, but it was kind of fun, anyway. It was like a game they were all playing.
When Beth got home, she found her mother working at her kitchen desk.
"I think I'll skip dinner tonight," Beth said.
Her mother gave her a worried look. "Are you sick?"
"No, I 'm just not hungry. By the way, I'm going over to Keith's house at seven."
"Could there be any connection between your loss of appetite and going over to Keith's?" asked her mother.
"Oh . . . no," Beth said nonchalantly.
"Well, love," said Mrs. Barry, "I think you'd better eat anyway."
Beth sighed. Parents hardly ever understood when you were going through a crisis.
"Okay," she said resignedly, and wandered off to her room.
At seven o'clock sharp, Beth pressed the doorbell at Keith's house. Keith answered. He wasn't exactly smiling, but he looked a little glad to see her.
"Hi," she said.
"Hi," Keith responded, opening the door for her. "Come on in."
Beth followed him into the family room just off the kitchen. A fire was lit in the great stone fireplace at the end of the room.
They both settled in at opposite ends of the couch.
"Keith . . ." Beth said hesitantly, wondering whether to begin with an apology.
"Beth," Keith interrupted, "I want to show you something that I found."
She looked at him in surprise.
Keith got up and moved to a table at the far end of the room, picked up a magazine, and returned to sit next to her.
"It's a movie magazine," said Beth, frowning. Why would he want to show her that?
"There's a section in it I think you'll really be interested in." He leafed through the magazine until he found the place he was looking for.
"These are pictures of actresses that this magazine considers the best, most interesting, and most beautiful in the history of films," Keith said.
Beth leaned over to see. As she looked at the movie stars, a smile formed on her lips. She was getting his point.
"See," Keith said, "here's an actress from the silent film days, Lillian Gish." The lady was posed next to a tree. Her hands were spread near her face as if she were frightened. Ms. Gish was a very small, thin woman. And very pretty.
"This is Jean Harlow," said Keith. "They thought she was a really sexy lady back in the thirties." Beth saw the actress was thin and not big-chested.
"Here's Myrna Loy," Keith continued. "And here's Katharine Hepburn and Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelly and Natalie Wood." He pointed to each one in turn. "Do you notice anything about them?"
He didn't have to point it out to Beth. They were all slender and beautiful! Beth got a sheepish look on her face. She knew all these actresses. She had seen their pictures dozens of times. But somehow it had never occurred to her that they didn't have big chests. It had never mattered because they were the best. And wasn't that what she wanted to be, she reminded herself, the best?
"Katharine Hepburn had a big love affair with one of the greatest actors of all times, Spencer Tracy," Keith said. "People still talk about them as a couple: Hepburn and Tracy."
"Oh, and here are some actresses I've seen in movies," said Beth excitedly. "Michelle Pfeiffer. I think she's one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen."
"Me, too," said Keith, grinning.
And Michelle Pfeiffer was so thin!
"And Meryl Streep," said Keith, pointing to another picture. "She's a fantastic actress."
Beth beamed at Keith for a moment before saying anything.
"Thanks, Keith," she said softly. "You're right. This is just what I needed. Thank you for showing it to me." She leaned over and kissed him gently on the lips.
"I'm so glad you're not mad at me," Beth said. "I know I've been pretty hard to get along with the last couple of weeks."
Keith pretended to be surprised. "What? You, hard to get along with? Come on."
Beth grinned, and Keith put his arm around her neck in a headlock. Beth squealed and they fell back into the cushions shrieking and laughing.
"Uncle!" Beth screamed. "I give up! Uncle, uncle!"
Keith stopped and pulled her close and kissed her softly.
"Okay, Barry," he said forcefully. "No more talking about Laura McCall, okay? You're prettier than she'll ever be."
"You won't say that when you see us in the Wizard of Oz skit. Laura will be in a gorgeous dress with a tiara and wand, and I'll be dressed in black with green makeup and have a terrible wart glued on my nose."
"Mmmm, yummy. I love girls with warts."
"Beast!" said Beth, laughing and hitting him with a pillow.
He grabbed the pillow away from her. "
Barry, you're weird," he said teasingly.
"You know, you're right," said Beth, feeling truly relieved for the first time in days. "So you've got a weird girlfriend. What does that make you?"
He slugged her with the pillow.
CHAPTER 14
Backstage was a flurry of activity and the air was tinged with the excitement of opening night.
Mr. Levine held up his hand. "Remember, this is a dress rehearsal, but because it's open to friends and family, you must be extra alert at all times. Concentrate, everyone, concentrate."
"And good luck to everybody!" Molly shouted.
The director looked as if someone had hit him. "No, Molly. Don't ever say 'good luck' in the theater."
"Why?" she asked.
"It's bad luck."
Molly turned pale. "You mean, I've just jinxed this performance?"
"Oh, no, I'm sure you haven't," he answered, but he had a doubtful look on his face. "In the theater you say things like, 'Break a leg,' for luck."
Molly turned to Beth and said seriously, "I hope you break your leg, Beth."
Everyone laughed.
Beth, her face slick with grayish-green makeup, turned and grinned slyly. "I hope you fall over your feet."
Paul laughed and shouted, "I hope you all barf all over yourselves!"
The other kids howled with laughter.
"I hope you slip off the stage and fall into someone's lap in the audience!" Lisa Snow shouted.
Chet Miller yelled, "I hope a storm comes up and a tree falls on the school and crushes you!"
"I hope a bumble bee gets in the auditorium and flies up your nose!" Shelly Bramlett shouted.
Soon it was time for the show to start. Beth paced nervously back and forth, studying Laura out of the corner of her eye. She was beautiful in her shimmering gown, just as Beth had known she would be, and Beth was glad when Laura pulled her black emcee costume on over it for the opening of the show. But remembering Keith's words, "You're prettier than she'll ever be," warmed Beth's heart and made her feel good all over.
The performance went smoothly through the witches' opening speech, the Snow White skit, Chet's Headless Horseman act, and Paul's magic act. Then it was time for the Wizard of Oz skit. Onstage, Dekeisha handled the introduction by herself while Beth and Laura got ready for the scenes.